wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Cause its jersey - - and we're all damned

NJ -- it's what 212, then 718 once were.

Melting pot beyond skin color -- immigrants on the way up, all classes, grit plus trees.

The problems here go way beyond "There are too many super rich people!" that has made NYC so predictable and homogeneous so fast.

I moved here in 1988 for the convenience, but soon fell in love with the state. Sure, there are other states with variety and beauty, but few rival New Jersey for that personality trait that John Gorka picked up on...the ability to take whatever life throws at you without falling apart. They're survivors.

I've traveled all over the States, but New Jerseyans seem to me to be the least neurotic, most self-possessed, accepting people in the U.S., perhaps by dint of being such a cultural mixing bowl and such an industrial hotbed.

If you'd like a sense of the beauty of even the industrial landscapes of New Jersey, check out the paintings by Tim Daly hanging in one of the waiting rooms at the Secaucus transfer station (you can even glimpse them from the NJ Turnpike if you're stuck in traffic!). Or check out his website, www.timdalypainting.com.

have these authors traveled out of the mid-atlantic states? there are many states, both small and large, that have extremely diverse landscapes/climates, beautiful farms, rich histories and that have begotten important and famous people.

Please. Unique for its natural beauty? Its history? Obviously these people have never been to Massachusetts.

i went to Columbia HS in Maplewood. max weinberg of E street band and conan O'Brien was in my class and band, at one point. Everyone was emulating the Beatles, but only Max had the real stuff. A Zwillman was also in my class, so PLEASE don't use my last name

Dave

I have nothing against New Jersey but if I hear the words New Jersey one more time I'm going to scream.